It is happening as I type. What is, I hear you ask? The next landing on the Moon? The Paralympics have started a day early? Summer has finally arrived in the UK?
Well, the last answer is close, in that it is about something finally arriving. Not Summer in the UK (I have given up all hope of that after this weekend’s Bank Holiday weather fiasco), but the Great Migration has already arrived on the Masai Mara plains in Kenya and it is well under way.
After an arduous journey which started in February on the southern most plains of the Serengeti, in Tanzania, the now extremely tired and exhausted huge herds of wildebeest and zebra have finally appeared.
Having already trekked nearly 1,000 km, and braved the rushing waters and the hungry crocodiles of the Grumeti River, they still have to face more currents and crocodiles in order to cross the Mara River to get to the now fertile plains of the Masai Mara.
Literally hundreds of thousands of animals set off 7 months ago, and a lot have not made it this far. Those who have are rewarded with green grazing grass, and it is here they will remain for a few months, until they set off again in October time back towards the Serengeti, for the whole cycle to start again next year.
We recently have had a customer return from the Mara, and she has written an exceptional blog article about it – you can read her first hand experience by clicking here. Many people feel, as she did, that to witness the river crossing comes with mixed feelings – you feel compelled to watch, but equally you are distressed by the prospect.
You can also read the full story of the Great Migration here.